As of: March 13, 2024, 10:55 a.m
By: Lilli Schaule
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Many people may associate Franconia more with wine than beer.
The fact that Upper Franconia has the highest concentration of breweries in the world will come as a surprise to many.
The record has historical reasons.
Nuremberg – Bavaria is known worldwide for its beer and the art of brewing.
The Bavarian tradition goes back centuries.
Many people associate Upper Bavaria in particular with the hop drink - the current figures should amaze them.
Because very few people probably suspect that the Bavarian administrative region of Upper Franconia has the highest concentration of breweries.
The record doesn't just apply to Bavaria, but to the whole world - that might make some people's eyes even wider.
“By far the highest density of breweries in the world”
Board member of the Bierland Oberfranken association and managing director of the Chamber of Crafts for Upper Franconia, Bernd Sauer, also knows about the record.
“With 165 breweries per 1.07 million inhabitants, Upper Franconia has by far the highest brewery density in the world; there are 6,466 inhabitants per brewery in Upper Franconia,” Sauer explains to our editorial team.
In his information he relies on the figures from the Bavarian Brewers' Association.
In comparison, Upper Bavaria has 142 breweries - there are 33,098 residents per brewery.
Upper Franconia and its beer.
The Bavarian administrative district is the world champion in beer brewing.
However, the region was unable to secure an entry in the Guinness World Records book.
© imago/imagebroker
Great variety: almost 3000 different types of beer
In Upper Franconia, a brewery is understood as a company that can feed a family, explains Sauer.
Self-sufficient, hobby or part-time brewers would not be included in the statistics.
The board member also emphasizes the wide variety of beers.
There are almost 3,000 different types of beer in Upper Franconia.
The variety ranges from cellar beer to dark country beer to seasonal beers.
The high density of breweries has historical reasons
But where does the high density of breweries come from?
According to Sauer, this is primarily due to historical reasons.
Until the beginning of the 19th century, brewing rights were reserved primarily for cities - different in Upper Franconia.
Here, brewing rights could also be granted in the countryside by bishops, market counts or other bodies based on imperial privilege.
The fact that not only urban breweries were created increased the number of breweries in the Bavarian administrative district.
In addition, many breweries were built along old trade routes - many of these routes ran through Upper Franconia.
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Upper Franconia: Official and unofficial world champion
By the way: the Upper Franconian world record is recognized by the well-known Guinness Book of Records, but not officially recorded.
The term 'region' is used too differently in different countries around the world, explains Sauer.
However, the Upper Franconian community of Aufseß with its 1,200 inhabitants and 4 breweries managed it.
It has the highest density of breweries per resident, according to the municipality's website.
Upper Franconia therefore remains an official and unofficial record for brewery density.
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